Analytical Marxism
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Analytical Marxism is an academic school of Marxist theory which emerged in the late 1970s, largely prompted by G. A. Cohen's Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence (1978).[1] In this book, Cohen drew on the Anglo–American tradition of analytic philosophy in an attempt to align Marxist theory with an analytic style and standard, which led to his distancing of Marxism from continental European philosophy. Analytical Marxism rejects much of the Hegelian and dialectical tradition associated with Marx's thought.[1]
The school is associated with the "September Group", which included Jon Elster, John Roemer, Adam Przeworski and Erik Olin Wright.[2] This group initially also playfully called themselves Not Bullshit Marxist.[3] Its theorists emphasize methodology and utilize analytical philosophy, and some of them favor rational choice theory, game theory and methodological individualism (the doctrine that all social phenomena can only be explained in terms of the actions and beliefs of individual subjects).[1]
- ^ a b c Farmelant, James (8 August 2009). "G. A. Cohen, 1941-2009". Monthly Review. ISSN 0027-0520. OCLC 241373379. Archived from the original on 27 March 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2025.
- ^ "Analytical Marxism". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- ^ "Analytical Marxism". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 5 September 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
Cohen, Elster, and Roemer, all participated in an annual workshop usually known as the September Group. That Group initially also referred to itself as the "Non-Bullshit Marxism Group". The label is intended both to be humorous—there was even a faux heraldic crest complete with cod Latin tag "Marxismus sine stercore tauri [Marxism without the shit of the bull]" (G. Cohen 2013: 94)—and to convey some truth.